Unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs are reservoirs with trapped hydrocarbons (for example, oil, natural gas, or combinations of them) in which the hydrocarbon mobility is limited. Extraction of hydrocarbons from such reservoirs typically involves increasing the mobility of the hydrocarbons, for example, by hydraulic fracturing. In hydraulic fracturing, a fracturing fluid (for example, proppants and one or more chemicals in an aqueous or non-aqueous base fluid) is flowed through the hydrocarbon reservoir at high pressure. The pressure of the fracturing fluid fractures the reservoir rock to increase mobility of the trapped hydrocarbons. Some reservoirs include an organic material called kerogen intertwined with the rock matrix. The kerogen which is intertwined within the rock matrix can drastically increase the tensile strength of the rock. As a result, a significant amount of energy can be required to propagate fractures in these reservoirs.